The Crime
Robert
Francis Kennedy was born on 20th November 1925, the seventh child of
Joseph and Rose Kennedy. Raised within the same wealthy, competitive
environment as his elder brother, John F Kennedy, his exclusive
schooling included Harvard and the University of Virginia school of Law,
where he completed his degree in 1951.“Visibly devastated at the loss of his brother, Kennedy left the Cabinet to run for the position of New York Senator in 1964.”
Following his law degree, he managed the successful political campaign that saw his brother elected as a United States Senator. He repeated this success with JFK’s presidential campaign, and was duly rewarded for his service with the post of Attorney General, within the new Kennedy administration. He played the key advisory role in all areas of policy, the close family tie far outweighing all other Cabinet posts, despite his relative political inexperience. He was a firm supporter of the civil rights movement, and was instrumental in the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. He also spearheaded a nationwide campaign against organized crime, mob violence and labour racketeering.
He maintained this position of executive influence up until the assassination of JFK, in November 1963, where after the installation of Lyndon Johnson as President saw a marked reduction in his political power, despite his remaining as Attorney General within the Johnson administration for a time.
Visibly devastated at the loss of his brother, Kennedy left the Cabinet to run for the position of New York Senator in 1964, and the political capital accrued by the Kennedy family’s loss was sufficient to secure the Senate seat in November 1964. During his time in the Senate he made poverty, and civil rights work, the focus of his attentions, and campaigned for the abolition of discriminations at all levels of American society. Despite his support for increasing armed forces in Vietnam during his brother’s administration, he reversed his previous position on the Vietnam War, accepting the need to withdraw from the Asian conflict.
He decided, in 1968, to launch his own campaign for selection as the Democratic nominee for President, on a far more radical social reform platform than that which had been advocated during his brother’s term as President. Faced with Kennedy as an opponent, Lyndon Johnson announced on 31st March 1968 that he would not be a candidate for re-election.
When Martin Luther King was assassinated on 4th April 1968, Kennedy made an impassioned speech about the need for racial reconciliation, which was credited with dampening what had threatened to become widespread, racially-demarcated riots. His overt support of the poor drew large crowds on his campaign trail, and Kennedy secured a significant number of victories in the primaries leading up to the selection of the Democratic candidate, practically ensuring his nomination for the United States Presidential elections, due to take place in November 1968.
The Assassination
On the evening of 4th June 1968, Kennedy was upstairs in his room at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, awaiting the official outcome of the Californian ballot, which he was confidently expected to win, once counting was completed. At 11.30 pm, when it appeared that victory was imminent, he moved down into the hotel ballroom with his entourage, where he was greeted by rapturous applause. He made a speech, which referenced the recent assassination of Martin Luther King, and again called for racial tolerance, as well as emphasising the need to withdraw US forces from Vietnam.
Having completed his victory speech by 12.15 am, in the early hours of 5th June, he made his way to a press conference in a different part of the hotel, along with his entourage, which took him through a narrow corridor containing an assortment of catering equipment that formed part of the hotel kitchens.
“A diminutive man approached Kennedy’s entourage head-on, and fired repeated shots from a .22 calibre weapon.”
Security within the hotel was minimal. Secret Service agent protection was only extended to the president at that time - following Kennedy’s assassination, all Presidential candidates became entitled to Secret Service protection for the duration of their campaigns - and he was ushered between venues by a single guard, Thane Cesar, from a private security firm, who steered Kennedy through the congratulatory crowds packing the narrow corridor.
A diminutive man approached Kennedy’s entourage head-on, and fired repeated shots from a .22 calibre weapon. Kennedy was hit three times; once in the back of the head, and two further body shots; an additional shot tore his clothing but failed to penetrate. He fell to the floor, bleeding, as did five other individuals who received less serious wounds, either as a result of direct hits or ricochets. The gunman was subdued by a number of men within the entourage, but not before the 8-shot cylinder had been emptied. Kennedy, in obvious pain, enquired whether anyone else had been injured, and was attended by Dr Stanley Abo, who discovered the bullet hole behind Kennedy’s right ear. Recognising the risk of a blood clot, he made attempts to keep the wound clear, and Kennedy was rushed by ambulance to Central Receiving Hospital. When the severity of his head wound was discovered, and it became clear that Kennedy would require extensive neurosurgery, he was transferred again, this time to the Good Samaritan Hospital.
Meanwhile, the diminutive gunman was handed over to the police: he had seemed strangely calm throughout the entire chaotic episode, and offered no resistance to the arresting officers. He appeared incapable of providing his name, but was cooperative in all other respects.
Back at the Good Samaritan Hospital, Kennedy underwent three hours of surgery to remove a blood clot behind his brain, as well as bullet and bone fragments. Despite the surgery, his condition worsened steadily throughout the day, and he was finally pronounced dead at 1.44 am on the morning of 6th June 1968, having never recovered consciousness after the surgery. He was 42-years-old.
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